Clinton calls for "careful" response to Israeli raid

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that all of those involved in the Israeli attack on a ship carrying aid to the Gaza Strip should respond to the incident carefully, DPA reported.

"The situation from our perspective is very difficult and requires careful, thoughtful responses from all concerned," Clinton told reporters after meeting with Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi.

Israel's raid on the Turkish ship on its way to the Gaza Strip carrying pro-Palestinian activists and relief supplies left nine of the activists dead. The ship was trying to get through an Israeli embargo of Gaza.

The storming prompted worldwide criticism of Israel. The United States has called the deaths regretful but has stopped short of calls to directly condemn Israel.

The United States backed a more vaguely worded UN Security Council statement that condemned the acts that led to the tragedy. The statement also called for an investigation. Turkey has called for swift action to punish Israel and has criticized the Security Council for responding too weakly.

Clinton said Washington supports an Israeli probe but is open to international participation. The ship was Turkish flagged.

"We are open to different ways of assuring a credible investigation, including international participation, and we will continue to discuss these ideas with the Israelis and our international partners in the days ahead," Clinton said.

Clinton met privately with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu for more than two hours earlier Tuesday.